Rumination Hinders Recovery From Ostracism

Ostracism—being ignored and excluded—is a painful event that threatens fundamental needs. Ostracized individuals' reflective responses focus on cognitive appraisal and motivated recovery, and previous research suggests these appraisals can help or hinder recovery. Rumination is a negative style of cognitive appraisal that often leads to maladaptive coping strategies by prolonging distress and impeding individuals' active actions toward problem solving. We hypothesized that rumination would hinder individuals' ability to recover from ostracism in a laboratory experiment. We randomly assigned participants (N = 112, average age 19.67) to be included or ostracized in an online group interaction, and then either allowed them to ruminate or distracted them. Ostracized participants who were allowed to ruminate reported more distress than ostracized participants who were distracted, suggesting less recovery. We then discuss the developmental implications for rumination and effects on chronically ostracized individuals.